All posts tagged: Textile

Hop onto a plane in Houston and travel 24 hours, change the time zone to go backwards and you’re in Delhi, India at a very unusual time of the morning. (2.00 am) but with a gathering of spirits in immigration, lines and lines of tired people from all walks of life, you finally do get to you hotel at 4.00 am. So you sleep a little and feel you are invincible because you slept 4 hours. I knew I wasn’t really in the best frame of mind because I was not happy with the state of my room in the light of day, or the fact that we were placed at a very small untidy table for breakfast. This one’s off the list for me. That’s what travel does to you at times. Irrationality strikes and you become a bit crabby. However, I chided myself for my less than satisfactory understanding and faced the day with great optimism. Time to explore, time to look at the Textiles that play such a big part in …

There has been no blog for a few days while I re-configured my computer. I had a problem when I was traveling in Thailand a few weeks ago and its taken up to now to do the final changes. Following my previous blog, I did a few sketches yesterday. Its basically what a saw as I was traveling to MoNa. Rather than get the camera out…. I drew in the ipad and the smaller device makes it easier. (For me, anyway.) As a Textile dabbler, I could use this sketch to create an image on fabric. There's nothing to stop me drawing the sea and sky in the ipad and printing it myself on the computer.!!! Applique the yachts raw edge and outline them with black thread as if its a sketch…. I'll do one when I get home to see how it comes out. OK, so this isn't fantastic as fabric… but I could re-arrange it. Related articles Pam, how do you sketch on your iPad? Talking Textiles. Introducing iPad For …

I found this wonderful book today and the designs took my breath away. Sometimes, just out of the blue, you connect to something you come across. I found this book this morning as I was passing the book store on the way to the chemist. On opening it, my heart skipped a beat and I had to take it home with me. How wonderful to be privy to the creative genius of sisters Sarah Collier and Susan Campbell who worked alongside each other for 50 years. I adore their patterns, the painterly and sketched effect of their fabric and of course the colors. There are not many fabric designers who draw the patterns for their own fabric line. Some designers are presented with patterns from companies and color them in their own style, others rely on artists to draw the final designs from the named designers sketches. Its often the name that captures your attention So these designers are refreshing, and exciting, they Sarah Campbell – image source Talking Textiles Now I …

Keith and I don't do "tourist" very well. We did yesterday on a ride down the Ping river in Chiang Mai, but I admit that I gritted my teeth and sighed a lot at the patter of the guide. Granted he is Thai and is talking in another language… but I have many Thai friends and the banter is not normal Thai speak…. We haven't been to Chiang Mai for about 20 years and my main reason for coming was to look at Textiles. We found a market where they sell new and Antique Thai embroideries and products. In fact its not far from our hotel. We wandered down back roads and came across a tented area of about an acre, these skirts were hanging on a fence of a rather polluted creek to dry after being dyed. I thought they looked wonderful. As we walked into the compound my heart skipped a beat at the colors and textures of all that I saw. These pieces were hanging under a big blue plastic awning. This …

Last night the internet was so slow, it took 5 minutes to download a photo. So here up am up at 4.00 (now 5.30) so I have access to faster internet. I mentioned that I visited the weekend market on Sunday. Its an exciting place to visit for many reasons, but I've not seen any info on the net that describes it as an outlet for young designers. If you venture deep into the bowels of the market, and walk along some of the small darker inner alleys you will find a wealth of creativity. Some of the creations are not the style I like, …. but nevertheless, they are creative. I found one such designer and I was blown away by her creations. This is one of 10 garments I purchased. First of all I don't ever wear patterned fabric, but this is quite neutral and I can accessorize in bright colors so I opted to purchase this one…. Its a bit 'flowing' which also adds to the bulk of the body…. but, its …

I've finally had time to sit at the computer and begin work on my photos. I will add albums each day to my web page and I ask that you respect the owner of the quilts by not downloading and distributing the images. Quilts click the word to view. This is my 12th consecutive year at Houston. This event has been good to me, I've been lucky enough to win BOS and numerous other awards over the years. I also won the Jewel Pearce Patterson Award and I have a loyal band of followers from all over the world who visit each year. Good morning Pati from Mexico…. (she has coffee with me each morning) Walking those big red carpeted aisles each day brings forth new ideas, new images, old friends and acquaintances. This year, I've seen innovative ideas in fabric design. A new machine for quilting and for the first time museum quality antique textiles. You can find the ordinary and mundane… mixed with the exciting and new. I bought vintage handwoven kimono …

I had a lovely day today…. It was an early start, cold crisp and 6 deg when we left home. The dogs took one look at the packed bags, sort of rolled their eyes and went back to bed. (She's off again) The Qantas club is a great place to people watch, I had pancakes with lemon and have specially brewed coffee. People are coming and going, some seemed bored with travel, but the young couple next to us excitedly were anticipating their overseas trip. Some times I make up my own stories about their circumstances. Is that legal? I worked on my Irish illustration while Keith was behind his paper. The flight was great, I worked a little but the lure of my new edition of Selvedge proved too strong and I spent the rest of the time devouring the information. Cath picked me up at the appointed time and we hadn't gone too far when we had to stop at a traffic light. I took a gasp… to the left I noticed trees …

The Olympic games are almost upon us, I'll miss the opening, on TV but I'll be glued to the screen in the studio when I get back home. There is more to the physical competitive side of the Olympics in London. I discovered a different Olympic Program. The Cultural Olympiad Program, stories of the world. I love fabric in any form, its the base for everything we do as textile artists. Doing a little research on threads and fabric, I came upon a this event. "The Textile Manufacturers of India is an 18 volume set of fabric sample books put together in 1866 by John Forbes Watson and published by the India Office of the British Government. This wonderful resource has been given new life online as part of the Global Threads Project and the London Cultural Olympiad program Stories of the World. Young people from Lancashire have cataloged, photographed and designed a website that makes it easy to draw on the collection for inspiration." (Selvedge Magazine) Its a fascinating resource for fabric …